NTCA Statement on Office of Rural Broadband Act

Arlington, Va. (February 13, 2019)—NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association issued the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield in response to Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introducing the Office of Rural Broadband Act. The bill establishes an office at the FCC to coordinate rural broadband deployment efforts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Utilities Service and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

“I share Senator Klobuchar’s and Senator Cramer’s interest in ensuring coordination among the much-needed initiatives underway within multiple agencies to promote a shared national vision of universal broadband access,” said Bloomfield. “The Office of Rural Broadband Act demonstrates support for promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of such efforts and ensuring that the broadband needs of rural Americans remain a top priority.”

Sens. Klobuchar and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) introduced the same bill in 2018, following similar legislation introduced by Reps. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Collin Peterson (D.-Minn.) in the U.S. House of Representatives.